I just bought Gothic 2 of GOG and am playing it on Vista 32. Performance seems fantastic, but the game UI seems woefully bad. I mean really bad. There's no mouse in the game except to move the camera. I can't use mouse in the main menu. Inventory management with a mouse was done in 1987 for Dungeon Master but this game came out over a decade later and doesn't have it. So now I have to use the arrow keys and space bar for inventory? It's like 1982 or something. I have to take gold coins one at a time so if I get a pile of 20 gold coins I have to hit space bar 20 times. lol

Also, I can't attack consistently. It almost never happens. I click and the creature just blinks a little bit and my character does nothing. Once I got him to attack. The manual mentioned holding CTRL down which makes no difference.

Any help here? Please? This game makes me feel like I should mail my computer back to Newegg and tell them I'm too stupid to use it.

Also one really frustrating thing is that when the game launches it highlights 'load game' so I press enter but instead it starts a new game which has no abort so I'm forced to sit through minutes of dialog (alt-f4 doesnt' work, neither can I get to task manager to kill gothic2.exe or whatever it's called) before I can hit escape to load a game. It's like a 10 year old on crack made this game.

Ergonpandilus

April 7th, 2010 00:23

LOL. :D

I understand what you mean and that interface has driven lot of people away from the game, but trust me you'll get used to it and when you do it's not that bad.

The inventory is kind of bad, but in the options page there is also alternative way to handle inventory (Gothic 1 controls) which is you should also try. If you like to move more than one item at the time (like coins), press space. And you did notice that you can use mouse scroll and mouse click with inventory?

There is several different types of attacks; jump attack, side attack and normal attack. And when you get better in your weapon skills your attack moves actually change into much better! Also "train" with you dodge, it's important as well as parrying. I use Q and E buttons for "sideways" attack, they really work if you have long range weapons.

Bateman

April 7th, 2010 00:23

calm down :)

once you're familiar with it, it's very easy to manage.

1. you can tranfer more units in your INV while holding down <shift> (10 at a time), and i think with <ctrl> even the whole bunch, if i remember it rightly.

The mouse is really only for looking around and for making your character run in the right direction.

Yet maybe the most important key in the game is the left mouse button: once you stand before an object or enemy, you have to click and hold it, so that the object lightens up. Then with the <arrow up> (or maybe if you're playing "wasd-style" you have to click "w") you can pick the object up. If you're in a fight and you have your weapon ready, it's the same. hold the mouse button and then click "forward", "right" or "left" with your arrow keys to make an attack.

Thrasher

April 7th, 2010 01:14

It is certainly different and more complex than many other 1st person RPGs I've played. But it is also MUCH more satisfying once you become proficient in it, and flexible, making combat VERY fun, especially against tough enemies! Don't give up!

There is LOTS of good info here on how to use and customize the controls

If the game wasn't worth the trouble, I'd say 'delete' but it is, and I felt the same way about the wonky controls when I first started playing. Just learn the controls, IMO. It's worth it because the game is that good.

Dhruin

April 7th, 2010 12:29

It will take 20 minutes to get used to it, and then it ends up being a very usable (if unconventional) UI.

Just out of interest, Gothic 2 is essentially Gothic 1 with a few tweaks. Gothic 1 was originally conceived as a console game - hence, designed for a gamepad, hence no mouse. When the console thing never happened and development proceeded, they decided full mouse support wasn't a priority. This was a poor decision but it does work pretty well when you get used to it.

Gorath

April 7th, 2010 12:51

First of all, did you buy Gothic 2 or G2 Gold? The latter includes the add-on and is an exceptionally difficult game.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daroou
(Post 1061006530)

Also, I can't attack consistently. It almost never happens. I click and the creature just blinks a little bit and my character does nothing. Once I got him to attack. The manual mentioned holding CTRL down which makes no difference.

There are two (plural!) different combat control systems which can be toggled in the options. The classic style offers more options, the action style maps the most prominent options to the mouse and gets the job done.

The classic controls are actually quite simple and very fast, but unfortunately they're both not intuitive and badly communicated.

The key point is:
The 'action key' [that's CTRL or the LMB] in combination with 'forward' ['cursor forward' or 'W' or whatever key you define] does almost everything.

edit: It has been a long time since I've played it. Some trivial actions are done with a simple mouse click now, AFAIR.
/edit

Combat works the similar:
The 'action key' has to be pressed. Then the four cursor keys give you 3 active options (swing left / right, full blow plus step forward) and of course the block.
As you learn more skills blows can be chained into combos. Here your timing is essentiell. There's a short window to start the next blow when the last one is nearly over. If you miss it the combo ends. Same if you click too early or too often.

In the beginning you should only fight harmless creatures, and even only one at a time. You can and should run away! In the Gothic series creatures and NPCs are usually as dangerous as they look. Fighting one wolf might be okay, but 2 are a threat because they can surround you.
It's your own fault if you have no armour and try to use your stick on somebody with an armour and a two-handed sword. ;)
The effects of higher stats and better equipment are quite direct. You can feel the difference.

Quote:

Also one really frustrating thing is that when the game launches it highlights 'load game' so I press enter but instead it starts a new game which has no abort so I'm forced to sit through minutes of dialog (alt-f4 doesnt' work, neither can I get to task manager to kill gothic2.exe or whatever it's called) before I can hit escape to load a game. It's like a 10 year old on crack made this game.

Esc should skip most FMVs. The RMB should also behave like Esc more often than not.

Daroou

April 7th, 2010 12:54

Thanks guys. Yes, not long after I posted this here I figured out that I needed to hold down LMB and then use the directional movement keys at the same time. Unconventional, yes, but it is nice to have that level of control while attacking. What isn't so nice is that the game doesn't give instructions on screen or something. Ahh well, live and learn. Yes the only reason I bought the game off GOG was because of the raving user reviews here on RPGW and other places too.

GhanBuriGhan

April 7th, 2010 13:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daroou
(Post 1061006611)

Thanks guys. Yes, not long after I posted this here I figured out that I needed to hold down LMB and then use the directional movement keys at the same time. Unconventional, yes, but it is nice to have that level of control while attacking. What isn't so nice is that the game doesn't give instructions on screen or something. Ahh well, live and learn. Yes the only reason I bought the game off GOG was because of the raving user reviews here on RPGW and other places too.

And they are well deserved! It's a pity that the controls have probably driven away so many gamers from the series. They are actually quite good once you get used to them (except the inventory, that sucks), but it just shows how used we have become to the "standard" control scheme.

Gorath

April 7th, 2010 13:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daroou
(Post 1061006611)

Yes the only reason I bought the game off GOG was because of the raving user reviews here on RPGW and other places too.

I hope you used our GOG link. ;)

Daroou

April 7th, 2010 14:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gorath
(Post 1061006616)

I hope you used our GOG link. ;)

I think I did! Glad to help.

fragonard

April 7th, 2010 17:37

BTW, there is an option for a more normal attack interface in the config file. (attack with LMB only)

Omega

April 8th, 2010 13:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bateman
(Post 1061006532)

1. you can tranfer more units in your INV while holding down <shift> (10 at a time), and i think with <ctrl> even the whole bunch, if i remember it rightly.

To get the whole bunch: <ALT>.

BTW if you'd ever try to transform yourself into some animal: hit <ENTER> to become human again; it has taken me quite some time to figure that out. :)

Nukester

April 14th, 2010 05:17

I too once gave up trying to figure out the Gothic controls (way back with the first Gothic), but came back to it a few weeks later, got used to the controls in a couple of hours, and Gothic went on to become my favorite game of all time.

I think the controls for combat work good and make sense once you get the hang of it, but I agree that the inventory system is a bit on the cumbersome side